Nina Davuluri Twitter row: If you ever start a tweet 'I'm not a racist but ...' then perhaps don't hit send

Nina Davuluri's diplomatic response to racists tweets about her, after she was
crowned Miss America, won't even pierce the dense mat of isolationism that
America has cultivated in its citizens since 911, says Dr Brooke Magnanti.

The newly crowned Miss America, Nina Davuluri, is the first winner with a south Asian background: both of her parents are form India. Nina, however, hails from Syracuse in New York and her sister is a medical school student – as far a middle of the road, suburban USA goes, itsimply doesn't get more American than that.

Or does it? Because within hours of being crowned,bigots took to Twitter spouting remarks about her race, her appearance, her presumed religious background – including comments accusing the result of being 'disrespectful' so soon after the anniversary of September 11th. (Quite apart from anything else, Davuluri and her family aren't even Muslim. Simply foreign and dark skinned. Not that it would make any difference to thebigotseither way.)

A number of the worst comments were quickly deleted, but not before the trend had been noted online. Top tip: if you ever craft a tweet that starts 'I swear I'm not racist but …' maybe the best thing to do wouldbe to NOT hit send?

It's an unfortunate truth that in a country almost entirely comprised of recent immigrants or people only a couple of generations out from being migrants, such bald racism is still widespread. The fact that the daughter of migrants won Miss America shouldn't even be news. If anything, it would be more surprising if the often overlooked Native American community had been represented instead.

The first black Miss America, Vanessa Williams,was crowned in 1984 and also hailed from the Syracuse area. (She later stood down when nude photographs of her from a stint as a photographer's assistant surfaced and were published in Penthouse magazine.) In the 29 years since, has much changed? Sadly, given the reaction to Davuluri’s win on social media, a lot of people will be forced to face the fact that in spite of this year’s contest being billed as the most diverse ever, attitudes still haven’t shifted by much. While the racial diversity of 'American' continues to gain ground in popular representation, the old guard hasn't stepped down just yet.

Davuluri, meanwhile, brushed off the racist remarks on her first day as winner. "I have to rise above that. I always viewed myself as first and foremost American." It is of course the kind of diplomatic and measured response we expect from a beauty queen. The real shame is that it probably won’t even pierce the dense mat of isolationism that America has done so much to cultivate in its citizens since 2001.